Q: What was your most exciting moment in field hockey?
A: It was my freshman year actually. I play defense, so I don’t know how this happened exactly, but I ended up in perfect position in front of the goal. I got a pass from my sister, Genevieve, and I scored my first-ever field hockey goal. So that was probably the highlight of my field hockey career.
Q: So your sister is also a Vassar student?
A: She was a senior when I was a freshman. I almost didn’t come to Vassar because of that. When we were growing up, she always set things up for me and made sure everything was taken care of. I decided that for college I should try to do things on my own and not always have her looking out for me. But I really liked Vassar. And I met Judy Finerghty, the field hockey coach, and she’s absolutely wonderful. So ultimately I decided that I could live with the fact that my sister was here, and she didn’t help me out too much, so it worked out.
Q: What do you like about field hockey?
A: Oh, there are so many things! I really love stealing the ball. It’s very much a mental and a physical thing, because you have to concentrate and at the same time keep up with the offensive player. And I love the people on my team. You spend so much time together at practice and on away trips that you just really get to know your teammates, and you get this familial bond. Especially when you’re a freshman, coming into a new school where you don’t know that many people, to have that instant family is really nice. Also it’s great to have something to do besides academics and to run around outside and get a little energy out of your system.
Q: Are there other activities you’re involved in?
A: All my extracurricular stuff is field hockey-related. I’m the SAM rep for my team. SAM stands for Student Athlete Mentors. If a player has a problem with another player or with the coach or just anything involving that sport, he or she can come talk to the SAM representative, and we act as an unbiased helper and give them advice on what to do. And if I don’t know what to do, I can bring it back to the SAMs, and we talk about it confidentially and try to come up with a solution to the problem.
Last spring, our team also mentored a high school group from Poughkeepsie — a club team. They would come from various areas around Poughkeepsie to this gym nearby that had an indoor turf field, and 10 or 12 of us would go over and run drills for them and have scrimmages and coach them a little bit.
Q: What’s your major?
A: I’m a history major with a French correlate. I love the History Department. I can’t imagine majoring in anything else.
Q: What’s your favorite course so far?
A: That’s hard to say. I’ve taken several courses with Professor Merrell. I wasn’t particularly interested in his time period, which is Colonial America, but it didn’t matter because he’s such a great professor, and then I ended up really liking that time period. Right now I’m taking the Russian Empire with Professor Pohl. Actually, it’s the second course on Russia I’ve taken with her. I took the Soviet Union and the Rebirth of Russia and really enjoyed that also. But actually I haven’t had a history professor I haven’t loved.
Q: Have you done any internships?
A: Not in history. I did a marketing internship over the summer at a pharmaceutical advertising company in Philadelphia. I wanted to experience what the marketing industry was like since I don’t know much about that type of work. I’m not sure that it’s something I will want to do, but it was interesting. I liked it. Michael Moore’s movie, Sicko, came out while I was working there. It was interesting to hear what they had to say about it. Their viewpoint was that it was pretty one-sided and that he overlooked a lot of positive things about the pharmaceutical industry.
Q: What other fields are you thinking about?
A: I’m not sure. I do like history a lot, so teaching might be an option. But right now I’m just interested in looking at different options and seeing what I might be good at.
Q: Where do you live on campus?
A: I’m in Main, which I really like. Whenever I see prospective students, I tell them they should try to get into Main. You have the Retreat right downstairs. You have the Rose Parlor if you want to sit somewhere quiet. And it’s very central to everything on campus.
Q: Have you had any encounters with the Main ghosts?
A: I haven’t! Maybe I have and just didn’t notice.
Q: Do you think residential life is an important part of your education?
A: I do. I think it teaches you things like time management and independence. Say you went to Vassar but lived at home, I think your parents — or at least, my parents — would tend to be too involved in your life. I mean, my parents are still involved, of course, but it’s up to me. I have to make sure forms get filled out, I have to make sure things get handed in on time. For example, I’m going abroad next semester to Paris, and there’s a lot of paperwork to be filled out, and I’m the person in charge of that. I think that’s really important because you need that for the future.
Q: Is there anything that surprised you about Vassar?
A: I wouldn’t say this surprised me, but I’ve found that people here are generally very happy and very kind. I feel very at home here.
